Chinese Firm Buys SF Office Tower for $255M

A subsidiary of HNA Ecological Technology Group Co., Ltd., a division of HNA Group of China, has acquired the 29-story office building at 123 Mission Street in San Francisco for $255 million in cash. The Class A office tower was sold by the U.S. subsidiary of Great Eagle Holdings, a Hong Kong real estate company that also owns the luxury hotel chain, Langham Hospitality Group. Great Eagle Holdings' Bay Area arm, Pacific Eagle Holdings, paid $179 million for the office tower December 2013 when it purchased the office building from Sumitomo Corp. of America.

"As the prices of office buildings in San Francisco have appreciated rapidly over the past year, especially in downtown San Francisco where the building is located, the general partner and asset manager believes that it is appropriate to dispose of the property," allowing the seller "to take advantage of the favourable market conditions," Great Eagle Holdings said in the filing.

123 Mission, formerly the Pacific Gas & Electric Building, was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and developed by the Shorenstein Company in 1986; the Gensler-designed lobby was later renovated in 2009. At ground level, the building includes 2,577 square feet of retail space for four vendors, and below grade parking to accommodate up to 90 parking stalls. Located in the San Francisco Financial District’s South of Market submarket, the 346,000 square foot office building is two and a half blocks from San Francisco Bay and a short distance to the AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants. The building is currently 95% occupied with 14 tenants, according to financial documents.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

Lincoln Partnership Re-Acquires 915 Wilshire

Lincoln Property Company has partnered with affiliates of Rockwood Capital, LLC for the purchase of a 22-story office tower in downtown Los Angeles that it previously sold to Brickman Associates in 2007. Lincoln originally purchased the property in 2003 for $49.2 million, or $128 a square foot, from TIAA-CREF, selling it to Brickman for $117 million, or just under $300 a square foot. The price Lincoln Property paid this time was not released, but sources tell GlobeSt the building probably sold for $130 million. Kevin Shannon, currently with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, brokered the deal; terms were not disclosed.

"Lincoln has a lot of history with this property, and we're thrilled to bring it back into our portfolio once again," said David Binswanger, Executive Vice President of Lincoln Property Company. "We really believe in downtown LA, and with this particular building, we were attracted to its potential for renovation. We look forward to executing our vision to create a more modern, inviting space for current and future tenants of 915 Wilshire."

Originally built in 1979, 915 Wilshire is a 390,312 square foot steel frame Class A office building complete with a storage penthouse, emergency equipped helipad, exterior terraces at the 7th and 8th floor northern exposure, and a parking garage. The Skidmore, Owings and Merrill design was constructed by Turner Construction and developed by Cabot, Cabot & Forbes. After selling the property to Brickman in 2007, Lincoln has stayed on as a property manager and leasing agent. The Lincoln partnership said in a press release that it has plans to renovate the property for the first time in over a decade, to include upgrades to the lobby and valet area, redesigning the outdoor patio, and replacing the elevators. The building was 88% leased at the time of sale, and is across the street from the Wilshire Grand Center, a $1 billion mixed-use project being built by Hanjin Group that's expected to be completed in July 2017.

"We are very excited to be partnering with Lincoln on the renovation of 915 Wilshire," said Tyson Skillings, Managing Partner at Rockwood Capital, LLC. "This property, already in high demand by tenants, is located in the heart of the most vibrant area for redevelopment in downtown LA. It will become even more attractive with the nearby addition of a new, world-class hotel tower, restaurants, nightlife and retail. This is a prime example of Rockwood's investment approach."

For more news and information visit Blumberg Partners.

JLL Gets $125M Acquisition Financing for Onterie Center

Jones Lang LaSalle announced this week that the firm's Capital Markets group secured $125 million in acquisition financing for Onterie Center in Chicago. New York Life is providing the financing for the sixty-story award-winning high rise at 441 East Erie St. JLL announced this past December that it would be buying the property from Boston-based Metropolitan Properties of America Inc. for $188 million; Metropolitan paid $143 million for the building in 2005.

"Onterie Center is backed by strong institutional sponsorship, generates solid in-place cash flow and is in the heart of one of the highest residential rent districts in the city," said JLL's managing director David Hendrickson. "It offers superior amenities, an unparalleled location near a variety of dining and shopping options, and magnificent city and lake views, all of which made this a compelling investment for New York Life."

Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, construction was completed on Onterie Center in 1986. The property features a 60-story, 583-unit residential tower with 102,616-square feet of fully leased commercial space and an 11-story tower with 32 luxury loft units. Current tenants include Northwestern University, the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Streeterville MRI and KinderCare daycare center.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Long Island City's One Court Square Trades for $481M

SL Green Realty Corp. announced this week that One Court Square in Long Island City, NY was sold for approximately $481 million. SL Green took control of the property in a joint venture with JPMorgan when it acquired the real estate investment trust Reckson in 2006. The transaction included the assumption by the purchaser, an unnamed private investor group, of $315 million of existing debt.

The tower was marketed by brokers Douglas Harmon and Adam Spies of Eastdil Secured. The price works out to a hair more than $350 a foot for the 1.4-million-square foot building that is triple-net leased back to Citibank through 2020, but will need a new mortgage in 2015, according to a New York Post article. CoStar Group reports that the 52-story, 1.49 million-square-foot, Class A marquee office building was designed by Skidmore Owings & Merrill and built in 1985 on 1.9 acres, towering above the Northwest Queens County submarket of Long Island.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.

Rockpoint Group Sells Stake in Park Avenue Plaza

Rockpoint Group closed on the sale of a 49% stake in Park Avenue Plaza to an unnamed high-net-worth investor from Asia according to a Wall Street Journal article. Rockpoint's Fund III acquired a joint-control equity interest in Manhattan's Park Avenue Plaza in June 2010, with the remaining interest owned by the Fisher Brothers. The investment was acquired for approximately $570 per square foot according to the company website. The price of the sale was not disclosed and Rockpoint has yet to release a statement on the sale.

Park Avenue Plaza was designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill with 45 floors of Class A office space. The skyscraper features 12 corner offices per floor, column-free 45-foot interior spans, and an atrium lobby with waterfall-side café and European-style luxury retail arcades. Major tenants include BlackRock Inc., McKinsey & Co. and Swiss Re, according to the Wall Street Journal.

For more news and information visit Blumberg Capital Partners.